Hey, everybody!  I think I need a little break from writing and recording, just to let the song-writing reservoirs replenish.  So, what I think I'm gonna do is focus on playing live for a couple weeks and I will put together a few live-streaming shows to close out the month with.  I will continue to write new stuff but I'm not gonna put any pressure on myself to deliver tunes, as I think I'm just sorta spinning my wheels at the moment.  

The three songs can be downloaded by clicking the link below.   One of the songs, The Revolution's Over And They Won, is a bit of a bummer.  I was feeling pretty put out when I wrote it.  It seems like everything in this world, except for science, just keeps devolving into petulant, selfish, self-serving, grasping, vitriolic bickering.  And even as disconnected as I am, I still keep encountering people just being their typical, frustrating, selfish selves.  I mean, I'm talking about our leaders, and our celebrities, and major companies, and the news, and magazines, and the like.  It has nothing to do with the people in my life.  They're all sweethearts.  But, anyway, so I wrote The Revolution's Over as a reaction to all of the acrimony.

And the song, I Saw Jesus On South Lamar, is a sorta failed experiment.  I know I could go back to keep tinkering with the lyrics but I just sorta lost steam in the writing process.  Of course, because I'm obsessed with completing a song once I've started writing it, I finished it, but I intended for the song to be funnier and more arch than it ended up being.  And, by the end of it, I actually felt like Jesus did.  I just wanted to climb out the car without saying goodbye.  So, if you're interested in my process, this might be a bit of an interesting look.  But if not, I would suggest passing on it.  But that's just me.  Maybe you guys will love it.  I really can never tell which songs will resonate and for what reasons.

Anywho, I think I'm gonna do a live-streaming show this coming Sunday, during the day.  Probably around three-pm, so that way it's four-pm for the people on the east coast, and one-pm for people on the west, and hopefully that won't intrude too much on people's days.   I will provide the details when I post my song-offerings at the end of the week.

Love you all!  Thank you so much for the continued support!

M.

Here's the music...

https://www.yousendit.com/download/bXBiRkJlK3hVbS9MYnRVag

Hey everyone!  I just got done playing live via Usteam.   I have attached the link below for your viewing pleasure.  The guitar is mixed a little low for my taste but I will definitely sort that out for the next show.  I play a total of 19 songs over 2 hours.  I hope you dig it, if you get a chance to watch.

Additionally, I have been working on the Say It With A Bullet album all week.  I don't have any mixes for you just yet, because I am waiting on my bandmates to record their performances but we're getting pretty close.  Maybe next week, or the week after, I should have a brand new record for you. 

Anyway, I love you all.  Thank you so much for your continued support.  

Mike TV

Here's the link to the show:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mike-tv-live-now-with-30-more-feelings

Hey everybody,

So, I noticed that I lost a few patrons with last week's post.  Which really breaks my heart.  So, let me ask, should I not do the live-streaming shows?  I know that I was having some technical difficulties but I will sort them out in the upcoming shows.  I figured that a couple hours of live-streaming entertainment would be worth the pledge you all have committed to me, but if not, please, let me know.  I was working on recordings all last week, but I had two shows to prepare for, as well as band practice, not to mention getting this current Say It With A Bullet album into shape, as I want to have it ready for release by the end of this month.  I was hoping to have all 10 songs ready before I gave you guys anything, as I know I have iterated on a bunch of these songs in the past, but, I have included them in this week's posting because, well, they're basically all of the recordings I've been working on.  The other songs just aren't ready yet.  

Okay, but please, allow me to wax poetic about losing patrons.  

I think I might slowly be fading into emptiness.  Patreon's not a very good way for me to interact with my friends and fans.  I've had my most productive year yet, but I feel like the music is just falling on deaf ears.  That the music is just being cast, yet again, into the abyss.  I can't get the Grey's Anatomy people to listen to my new stuff.  So the possibility of a big infusion of cash is not gonna happen.  I can't seem to engage the fans.  I'm terrible at self-promotion.  My money is dwindling.  My career is disappearing.  My music goes unheard.  And I feel paralyzed.  What do I do?  I've never done anything but make music and make it all the time.  Produce, produce, produce and then, voila, good things have happened.  But right now, I just don't see what could possibly save me from doom and ruination.

Okay, ha ha ha!  So, that's basically all of my fears in a nutshell.  But, aside from money, which is a short-term and easily fixed solution, and aside from the fact that it FEELS like I'm not engaging with the fans, there are all sorts of indicators that suggest otherwise.  Such as, my streaming numbers are going up each month.  The whole music business is now shifting over towards streaming songs, and my song-streams are climbing.  That's a good sign.  Also, because I'm producing so much new music, when people who stream my stuff like one song, there's a high likelihood that they will find others that they will enjoy.  I will have about 12 albums out, maybe 13, by the end of the year.  And I only had 7 going into 2014.  That's a lot of available music for people to stream.  Albums that maybe they might not have otherwise purchased but now can listen to for free via streaming.  So, that's good.

The reason I wrote the above two paragraphs is I just wanted to give my patrons a look into what goes on in my brain.  This is the fear and doubt that I have to deal with all the time.  The balance of reasoning and irrational fear.  And when I lose patrons, it feels like I'm failing.  Like it's just another reminder that my music is fun but kitschy at best and mediocre to boring at worst.  But hell, they could have left for any reason.  Maybe they lost their jobs.  Maybe their credit-cards were compromised and they haven't installed the new one yet.  I mean, it might have nothing to do with me.  Or maybe it does.  Maybe they feel cheated that I didn't provide new songs last week.  But if so, I have to let it go.  And just keep on doing what I do.  Til the wheels fall off.  Til the the engine explodes, the paint cooks away, and I arrive wherever I'm going, in a fiery, burning chassis of love, doubt, fear, and, ugh of all ughs, hope.  

Anyway, I wrote all this to let you know that when I don't have a lot to give you in a given week, it's not that I'm not doing anything.  I am.  I'm always working on music.  And I'm trying to figure out the best way to give you an insider's perspective on what I'm doing and how it gets done.  I really do love all the support you guys give me and have continued to give me.  Without you, frankly, and without Patreon, I think I might've, well, nevermind what might have happened.   But, see, I can't stand Facebook.  And Facebook definitely seems to be throttling my messages and announcements.  MySpace is dead.  And I just don't have the time or wherewithal to go seeking other avenues of social engagement.  And I'm certainly not ever gonna use ads.  Ewww.   So, it's you guys, my patrons, that fuel my engine.   Thank you so much.  I love you all.  I will try to do better.  I will try to give you more songs.  Better songs.  All the time.

With 3000 megatons of my love and admiration exploding on your faces,

M

Here's the link to the Say It With A Bullet album as it now stands...

https://www.yousendit.com/download/bXBaUXVrdGpxRTJFTmNUQw

(please note, this link will terminate in two weeks, so please download the music before two weeks from today's date.  Love you!)

Hey, hey, you magnificent patrons, you!

So, I have had a ton of fun this week putting together music for you. I am making a  garage rock/punk rock album. It's a complete concept record. Basically, there are four band members, all friends just out of high-school, and they put together a band called Anal Worm.  And they just saved a thousand dollars to go into the studio and record an album over a weekend.  And this is that record.  

The members of Anal Worm are: 

Empty Vee:  guitars and vocals

Thunder-Mutt:  bass

Jeremy: keyboards (the keyboard only has one working sound)

Smash: drums

These are, of course, completely fictitious people.  It's all me.  But I am basically working out the details of their lives to sort out the lyrics.  What they write about and why.  And I'm developing relationships between the band members to inform how they write their parts.  It's been super-fun.  I hope you dig it.  I think it just might be the most fun I've had since I moved to Austin.

Anyway, give it a spin.  Thank you for your continued support.  I love you all!

Click the link below for four songs from Anal Worm's first record, "Itch, Itch, Itch".

https://www.yousendit.com/download/bXBZYlJabWdGOFNHR3NUQw

Yours forever,

Mike TV

Hey, hey, you magnificent patrons, you!

I have four new songs for you this week.  Although, only two of them are keepers, and, frankly, one of them I am on the fence about.  But, I guess not everything I do can be amazing.  Actually, I am happy if a song is listenable after a couple listens.  Which, unfortunately, two of the songs this week are not.  Well, for me.  

Also, the lyrics aren't that great.  In fact, I reserve the right to alter all of the lyrics on this album before finalizing everything.  I'm trying to write as a different person and it's proving to be a bit tough.   But, this gives you a pretty in-depth look at how my process works.  Typically, I write on either guitar or piano, and I frame out the lyrics and the melodies while composing the chord progressions.  Sometimes I'll write a whole set of lyrics only to abandon them days later, as is  the case with the song Day Drinking.  I like the melody, I like the progression but the lyrics suck.  And I need to add a lot more sonic variety to the tune.  So it's still a work in the progress.  

I dig the Internet Is Down.  In fact, I'm sorta thinking that the whole gang vocal approach might be something that I might do for the whole record.  Not sure.  But anyway, I hope you dig the album as it is developing.  Again, this album is being written for my 19-year-old self.  I'm trying to put together an album that I would have loved back then.  *shrug*  You know, as an exercise.  Hopefully, not in futility.  :P

Thank you again for your continued support.  Love you all!  The link is below.  

https://www.yousendit.com/download/bXBiYUREaytlcEpFQmNUQw

M.

Hey you beautiful patrons, you!  

Your friendly, neighborhood Mike TV here.  I was just writing to say hello, provide you this week's dose of music, and let you know what's gonna be coming up for the next few months.  

As many of you might be aware, my financial situation is pretty dire at the moment.  I won't get into specifics but, alas, my release of True Crime Television on Bandcamp only took a small chunk out of the money I owe to my creditors. So, I am gonna be forced to take a day job for the next 4 to 6 months to replenish my coffers.  Which means that I won't have time to write music with the same sort of fecundity (I know, it's a bit of a poetic use of that word, but at the same time, not really) as I have over the past year.  I will, however, be able to provide one weekly Ustream show a week.  In fact, I have a link to one that I recorded last Friday.  I play almost 40 songs from every album I have released.  (Well, except Tumors.  I used those songs to sound check an hour before I started the recording.)

Now, I understand that this isn't what you signed up for.  So, if you feel that you must stop supporting me, I completely understand.  I hope to get back to the songwriting before long.  But, my bank account is so close to empty it might as well be so.  I owe hundreds of dollars and I don't expect to see any significant checks for another month and change.  So, I have to take drastic measures to tackle my drastic situation.  

I hope you check out the show to see exactly what I am offering in exchange in the interim.  I played almost 40 songs, I played deep cuts and songs that have long been requested by fans.  I spent two days rehearsing, re-learning old tunes, and re-charting forgotten ones.  In addition to giving you a similar show each week, I am going to provide you with chord charts and lyric sheets to every album I have ever released.  I will give you one album a week.  Starting with the first and moving up to the last.  Once I have completed that project, I will then start recording YouTube videos, explaining how to cover each of the songs, played exactly the way I play them. 

So, I know that you won't be receiving new music from me over the next few months.  But you will still continue to receive quality entertainment, I believe.  A show, along with chord charts and lyric sheets, and then, eventually, YouTube videos explaining how to play my music.  I hope that is enough to compel you to stick with me.  If not, I thank you for your support, heretofore.  I love you all.  

The link below will take you to last Friday's show.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mike-tv-live-now-with-30-more-feelings

Love you all,

M.

Hey everyone!  

So I started working a day-job this last week.  I'm gonna have to work for the next few month to allow my bank accounts to replenish.  Which means that I am not going to be able to do a lot of song-writing over the next few months.  But, I will be able to perform one weekly Ustream, and also provide you the lyrics and charts I promised last week.  So, here they are.  The first link is to a file with lyrics and chord charts for the first half of So You've Ruined Your Life.  The second link is to the recorded Ustream, in case you missed the live version.

https://www.yousendit.com/download/bXBaOU1jTkxxRTJwSHNUQw

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mike-tv-live-now-with-30-more-feelings

I hope you all are willing to bear with me for the next couple months.  As soon as my finances have recharged, I will get back to song-writing.  I just need to buckle down and work a dayjob for a while.  So sorry.  

Thank you so much for the continued support.  I love you all!

M.

P.S. I forgot to mention that the vocals are really hot on the Ustream.  I am still figuring out how to dial them in.  So I apologize for any clipping you might encounter.

Hey, everybody!  So, I have had a few people reach out to me regarding my decision to focus on live shows for the next month while I am working my part-time day job to help replenish my savings.  I am sorry I haven't had a chance to respond to everyone that has commented or written.  I will eventually.  I promise you that.  But, the strange thing is, some people prefer the live shows and others prefer the recordings.  Some people have said that they feel they get more value when it's a couple hours worth of entertainment as opposed to fifteen minutes of songs, and others feel like they were patrons because they wanted me to be able to provide them the fruits of a full week's worth of labor in the studio.  So, I was hoping to explain my position on all this.

For me, they both require a pretty significant amount amount of work, although, to be honest, when I am inspired and excited to write music, the recording process feels like it's easier and requires less actual hard work.  When I am not inspired and excited to write music, the live shows seem to require less work.  However, they both require lots of time.  For me to put together a live show, I have to spend a couple hours going through my music sorting out what songs I would like to play.  What deep cuts I think I can learn in the margins of my day and then it requires sitting down for a few hours every day, rehearsing.  Certainly, this does not require as much work as the time needed to write and record songs, but, when I am writing and recording, I am also not working a day job.  So, whether writing/recording or playing live, they both require significant time commitments.  So, whether you prefer the live shows or the recordings, please know that I am not phoning anything in.  I live to make music and sometimes, when I hit financially tough times, I have to make adjustments.

That said, this week's Ustream will hopefully be interesting.  It's a little more talking that I was expecting, as I sorta walk you through a narrative of my approach to song-writing and my inspirations from my very earliest days of songwriting up until the last couple years.  I tried to include some deep cuts, particularly from the early stuff.  And I am going to also provide you, for free, the complete collection of Vermicious K recordings.  Vermicious K was the band that directly preceded Get Set Go.  If you watch the stream, you'll get a better sense of what I'm talking about.

I will upload those tomorrow and make them available via a free Patreon release. 

Anyway, I gotta run.  I have to set up for band practice.  

I love you all and am so, so, so very appreciative of your continued support.  Be well and I will talk to you next week.  Click the link below for the live-stream.

ustream.tv/channel/mike-tv-live-now-with-30-more-feelings

M.

P.S. Oh, sorry about the advertisements on the stream.  I don't really know another service that allows me to archive multiple hours of live-streaming shows.  I'm already paying a monthly fee to make sure these episodes are archived.  The ad-free version of Ustream costs dramatically more per month.  I'm so sorry, but I just can't afford it.  If you know of a better service, please, let me know and I will switch.